[Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: from characterization to therapeutic use in adults and children].

Since the discovery of somatic stem cells different to hematopoietic stem cells, the concept of post-natal cell therapy has evolved. Among these stem cells, the human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells represent a particularly attractive cell population for new applications in cell therapy. The purpose of this review is to summarise acquired knowledge about the bone marrow mesenchymal subsets, to raise some questions about their characterization and their physiology, and to tackle the apparently most feasible therapeutic applications and their pre-requisites. John Libbey Eurotext 2003